Good News, Bad News

The past few days have been filled with highs and lows, ups and downs, good and bad.

I was headed to Dallas to spend three days at a Junior League national training conference, called the Organizational Development Institute.

Good news: I squeezed in a workout before I left for the airport, and hit no traffic during the entire 90-minute drive.
Bad news: I was really early to the airport, and while on the shuttle from the parking garage, I learned my flight was delayed 90 minutes, so now I am really early.

Good news: I found a place in the airport to get food, charge my electronics, and order a 9-ounce glass of wine to kill time.
Bad news: That 9-ounce glass of wine cost me $16 and someone decided to turn on the AC.

Good news: After three hours of delays, we finally boarded the plane.
Bad news: The pilot came on the loudspeaker to tell us the storms in the Midwest and the headwinds were working against us. What is normally a four-hour flight was going to take five or longer.

Good news: The movies on the flight were free instead of $5, and there was actually one I hadn't seen yet (Chasing Mavericks).
Bad news: I couldn't sleep at all. Or read. The turbulence was way too rough for either.

Good news: Even though I arrived much later than planned, my good friend from grad school - Christina - still met me for dinner at my hotel.
Bad news: She had to sit in the hotel lobby and wait two full hours for me to get there.

Good news: I got a room on the top floor - club status, baby!
Bad news: My bed had a divot from multiple bodies laying (hopefully alive) in the same place where I like to sleep. My sink continuously dripped, and my toilet never stopped running because there was a leak in the tank.

Good news: Room service was the same price as the buffet breakfast downstairs, so I ordered room service for the first time in my life!
Bad news: They forgot my potatoes and toast, and gave me cream when I asked for skim milk.
Good news: They sent someone up with my potatoes and toast. I had milk in my fridge that I brought from home (relax, it's shelf-stable).
Bad news: They forgot butter for the toast.

Good news: Breakfast the following day was included in the conference.
Bad news: "Breakfast" meant fruit, pastries, coffee, and juice. No protein in sight.

Good news: We got morning and afternoon refreshment breaks throughout the conference.
Bad news: The "refreshments" were coffee and tea.

Good news: My flight home was far less eventful with no delays.
Bad news: We had to circle Logan for almost an hour because of the snow in Boston.

Good news: My suitcase was one of the first onto the baggage claim and the shuttle to the parking lot came quickly.
Bad news: I had to clear several inches of icy snow off my car since I parked on the top level of the garage.

Good news: There was no traffic on the roads from Boston to Woburn (I stayed with Julia since it was late).
Bad news: the backroads were so bad that I spun out and nearly missed a stone wall, and then continued to slide down a hill sideways.
Good news: I avoided the wall (by about 3 inches) and no one was coming as I slide into what would have been oncoming traffic.

Good news: I drank many glasses of wine over the course of my trip, ate every meal in a restaurant, and never worked out (except walking around) and still managed to lose a few ounces.
Bad news: I had to stop my workout DVD after 20 minutes today. I was so winded and my fascia were on fire.

Bad news: I didn't get to see much of Dallas except for my hotel (Sheraton North) and the Galleria/Westin.
Good news: I did manage to cross something off my bucket list - dancing with a cowboy at a honky tonk in Texas! Several cowboys! Hot cowboys!

Bad news: We cried a lot this weekend. Some parts were really raw and emotional, and the girls from Ft. Myers and I shared a lot we may not have otherwise.
Good news: The girls from Ft. Myers and I bonded so much. I learned something about each of them that I didn't know before, and probably never would have had we not been far from home with only each other. I made some great new friends, learned a ton, and can't wait to visit Dallas again. And Ft. Myers!